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(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheen 1.

E. GRONIN. FURNCE FOR SMELTING MBTLS.

(No Model.) 2 Sneets-s11eet 2.

E. GRONIN.

EURNACE FOR SMELTING METALS.

No. 597,460. Patented Jan. 18,1898.

llllll n *lid yll il Hs sans vereis co. Fumo-umn., WASI-muro n c UNITEDSTATES PATENT Enron.

EDVARD ORONIN, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO JOHN G.OOONNELL, OF SAME PLACE.

FURNACE FOR SMELTING METALS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 597,460, dated January18, 1898.

, Application filed January 23, 1897x Serial No. 620,415. (No model.)

' T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, EDWARD GRONIN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio,have invented a new and useful Furnace for the Smelting of Metals, ofwhich the following is af ull, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates generally to the construction of furnaces forsmelting metals, and especially to the construction of the crucibles andthe manner of supporting the same in the furnace.

The primary object of my invention is to so construct and support thecrucibles in the furnace that any of them or any part thereof when itbecomes unt for use may be easily removed and replaced.

A further obg'ect of my invention is to provide means for localizing theiire under any one or more of the crucibles, so that when only oneCrucible is used the re need only be maintained thereunder, thuseffecting a saving to a large extent of heat and fuel. I am also enabledby this means to smelt different kinds of ores at the same time inindepend` ent or separate chambers and to prevent the heated gasesarising from the smelting of one kind of ore in one of the cruciblesinterfering with or otherwise affecting in any manner the met-alcontained in the adjacent crucibles.

The invention will be hereinafter more par- 'ticularly described withreference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecification, and is summarized in the claims. y

Figure 1 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in longitudinalvertical section, of a furnace constructed in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is a view partly in top plan and partly in horizontalsection. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section of the furnace. Figs. 4and 5 are detail perspective views, respectively, of one of the endsupports for the crucibles and one of the crucibles.

The furnace is preferably rectangular in form, and the walls 3 thereofmay be built from any desired refractory material. The crucibles, whichare preferably arranged transversely of the furnace above the grate andparallel, are each composed of three parts-to Wit, abody or Crucibleproper, 5, and combined ends and supports 4. The end supports 4 are sosecured in or to the opposite side walls of the furnace that they can beeasily removed and replaced when burned out, and they are preferablyformed with the recesses 4a to receive the open ends of the body portion5. This body portion is preferably substantially semicircular incross-section and with its sides slightly outwardly curved or bnlged atcenter, as shown in Fig. 5. The joint between the body 5 and ends4 canbe closed by tamping with clay or other suitable material. Thisarrangement, it Will be seen, permits of the body portion 5 or the ends4 being easily removed and replaced when burned out or broken, therebyavoiding the necessity and expense of supplying an entirely newCrucible.

The crucibles are preferably inclined, so that the metal when smeltedwill dow toward one end of the crucible, Where it can be withdrawnthrough the outlet l0 in the end support and Wall of the furnace, Fig.3.

The ore can be fed into the crucibles through the openings 11 in theside of the furnace opposite the outlets l0. With this arrangement itwill` be seen that the metal can be drawn as desired from the cruciblesand fed thereto i without the necessity of removing the crucibles fromthe furnace or disturbing the re. The openings ll are provided with anysuitable closure.

The roof or top of the furnace is preferably formed of transversesections, which sections are of any suitable refractory substance, andheld in position by crossbars l, (preferably coated on their exposedsurfaces witha refractory substance in order to prevent their beingdestroyed by the heat.) The cross-bars 17 are arranged in pairs andspaced apart, so as to form openings between them in which thepartitions 9 slide. These partitions are of refractory material and canbe moved ver tically between the cross-bars and in guidegrooves in theside walls of the furnace. The partitions can be easily raised andlowered by means of cords 15, which pass over pulleys 14, and areconnected at one of their IOO - other ends with weights 16.

ends to the partitions and supported at their The purpose of thesepartitions is to divide the furnace into chambers, so that any cruciblecan be separated from the others and heated separately if desired,whereby when only one crucible is used the heat from the fire will notspread through the whole furnace, but will be confined to that crucible,thereby effectinga saving of heat and fuel. enable me to smelt differentkinds of metals,

.requiring different degrees of heat or separate currents of heat at thesame time, as ,the partitions will prevent the heated products ofcombustion and gases rising from one fire in one chamber affecting thesmelting of the metal in an adjoining chamber. From the several chambersthe products of combustion and gases escape through outlets 2O into adue-pipe 2l, communicating with a smokestack 1. The grate is locateddirectly under the crucibles, and its bars 6 are preferably arrangedparallel with the crucibles and are supported by thelongitudinallyarranged bars 8.

Access can be had to the tire-chamber 9 under each crucible through theopenings provided with doors 12. Access can be had to the ash-pit 7through openings 13.

Instead of hard fuel, gas, oil, or other liquid fuel can be used,burners 18 and pipes 19 being arranged under each crucible for thispurpose.

The operation of my furnace is as follows: Fire is started under one orall of the crucibles, as occasion may require, and the partitionsarranged as desired. Thev metal .to be smelted is supplied through theopenings 11, and when smelted may be drawn off through the outlets orpipes 10 by removing the plug therefrom. The progress of the smeltin gcan be 'easily seen through the opening 11, and they also enable themetal to be conveniently worked' in the crucibles should occasion demandit.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. A crucible composed of an open-endedl body portion and two end piecesseparated from the body portion and forming a support therefor,substantially as described.

2. A crucible for smelting-furnaces, composed of the combined end piecesand supports, supported on the walls of the furnace, and the separateopen-ended body portion having its ends supported in and closed by thesaid end pieces, substantially as shown and described.

3. A crucible for smelting-furnaces, com- These partitions also posed ofthe opposite end pieces fixed in the walls of the furnace and formedwith recesses in their inner faces, with the open-ended body portionhaving its ends fitted in the recesses in said end pieces and closedthereby, substantially as shown and described.

Il. Ina smelting-furnace, the combination of the fire-chamber, andash-pit; a series of opposite recessed blocks in the side walls of thefurnace and a series of removable transverse open-ended crucibles,supported in said blocks; each crucible being independently removable,substantially as described.

5. In a smelting-furnace, the combination of the fire-chamber, andash-pit; a series of opposite recessed blocks in the side walls or' thefurnace and a series of removable transverse open-ended crucibles,supported in said blocks, each crucible being independently removable;with pairs of guide and roof-supporting bars in the roof of the furnace,located over the spaces betweenadjoining crucibles, the solid refractorypartitions vertically and independently adjustable into or out of the`fire-chamber, guided between said bars, and smoke-outlets beside eachcrucible, substantially as described.

6. In a smelting-furnace, the combination of the fire-chamber, a seriesor number of parallel horizontal crucibles supported therein, and aseries of vertically-sliding partitions for separating any crucible fromthe others: with means for independently raising and lowering saidpartitions, and means for guiding the partitions provided in the roof ofsaid furnace comprising a series of cross-bars arranged in pairs andhaving .an opening between them in which said partitions slide, saidcross-bars also forming a support for the roof of thefurnace,substantially as described.

7. In a smelting-furnace, the combination of the fire-chamber,crucible-supports iixedly secured in the opposite Walls thereof abovethe grate, and removable bodies or crucibles on said supports, withtransverse verticallymovable partitions one located between eachadjoining pair of crucibles, and means for independently adjusting saidpartitions so as to divide the fire-chamber into compartments orchambers each communicating with the lcommon ash-pit and Acontaining oneor more crucibles; and a separate smoke-outlet between each adjoiningpair of partitions, and between the end partitions and the end walls ofthe furnace, all substantially as described.

EDIVARD CRONIN.

Attest:

JOHN G. OCONNELL, F. N. TAYLOR.

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